March 30, 2013

How To Reduce Aggressiveness

I'm gonna derail myself from my usual topic, and instead talk about something else. I'm gonna talk about aggression and how it can be prevented. Aggression is a common trait among humans. Some of us can control it, better than others. We tend to get angry because of our ignorance. We attach ourselves to certain ideas of ourselves. We allow others to identify us with insults, and we get angry at them. It's highly illogical. When you think about it, anger is pointless, it has no use, it doesn't help us in any way. It hold us back. So, how come humans haven't removed that trait throughout our evolution? Why do we always tend to think so primitively? I think it's because of our inability to come to awareness. If we could, we would've removed pointless emotions such as anger a long time ago. Now, what do I mean by awareness. I define awareness, the act of being conscious of ourselves - our weaknesses, our strengths, our humanity. But, not only being aware of them, but also having the ability to control them at will, and to reject them entirely in necessary. But, why can't we come to awareness, maybe our minds haven't evolved that far yet - unfortunately. So, how can we control our aggression, then? Well, one way might be to simply try your best at controlling your emotions. I don't believe you should never get angry, but when it turns to aggression, it simply must be controlled. By realizing that the problem is within ourselves, and not in others, we can more easily control our anger. Also, by doing your best to no allow insults to define who you are, you will also get a batter grasp at what it takes to be in control. After all, the only reason words can hurt us, is because we all them to identify us. We allow meaningless words to describe us in a certain way, and when we don't like it, we become angry. The same thing can be said for compliments, but I wanna focus solely on anger, right now. We need to let go of our attachments, if we are to be successful in controlling our anger. If you feel like physically assaulting someone, realize that you are the one who is at fault. You are allowing that person to control you, by allowing said person to make you angry. If you like insulting someone, again, realize that they are not the one who are at fault. You are. Also, I believe talking trash is cowardly. You show signs of fear towards such person when you feel the need to insult them. Of course, that may not be the case for every occasion. Still, mindlessly spitting out curse words is pointless. You should at least say something intelligent, maybe actually pointing out what they are doing wrong instead - that can be considered an insult, but a smart one. I know none of this is easy, in fact, it's extremely difficult. Mostly because we tend to ignore what we know, and "take the easy way" by mindlessly expressing our anger. Also, society has taught us that violence can solve any problem. We tend to take the people around us as example, if they are aggressive, than we be urged to be aggressive, too. We like to take the easy way, instead of carefully analyzing the situation, and more importantly ourselves. We need to completely separate ourselves from our surroundings, but, unfortunately, that's not possible. But, there's hope. If we practice control, if we truly care to act as intelligent beings, then we will be able to control our aggression. It's not gonna be easy, and you will fail every once in a while. But, what matters is that you try hard, and make an effort to liberate yourself from your own aggression. It will take a lot of will power, but it can be done.